To Örebro University

Once upon a time, there was the legend of Robin Hood, the English folklore hero who was not only a skillful archer but also swordsman. Not surprisingly, the famous outlaw didn’t act alone in the deep Sherwood Forest but with the help of his band of Merry Men. His mission was to steal money from the rich and give it back to the poor. Therefore, the peasants considered Hood both as their protector and friend. Even today, Robin Hood represents in our minds a clear exemplar against any sort of oppressive authority, which in his time took the form of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Do modern heroes still exist to get inspiration by? The answer to this question is not trouble-free. A great part of people would say that the group of ‘Anonymous’ -known as ‘Anons’- falls into the category of contemporary heroes. Anons could be discerned as a ‘reincarnation’ of the digital version of Robin Hood since they fight against corruption, repression, and injustice, as he did. More precisely, the group of Anonymous is a global, Internet-based social movement of mostly young and dissatisfied people who decided to provide their own answer towards the established global governance and order. This paper will investigate the latest hacking activity of the Anonymous against a number of governmental websites in Greece. The purpose of Anonymous -as stated on their Facebook page- was to protect/defend the Greek citizens who sternly suffer because of the financial crisis and to give a ‘strong lesson’ to the elected politicians in office. Drawing on material from newspapers articles, weblogs and videos, this article aims to understand whether the group of Anonymous continues the long tradition of Robin Hood as a heroic figure/icon, or it symbolizes something radically new.

Disability classification systems belong to the core of states’ social/disability policies through which persons with disabilities are classified as eligible or ineligible for having access to disability allowances. The study of disability classification systems has stimulated the interest of several scholars from the broader area of disability studies. Either by conducting comparative studies between different states and describing the similarities and differences of these systems around the world or by conducting studies focusing on the politics and semantics in the development of disability classification systems in specific states, all studies have shown a pluralism in the systems for assessing and certifying disability. In Greece, the development of disability classification systems for social welfare reasons emerged as a controversy that lasted for almost twenty years. One factor that strengthened the controversy was the outbreak of the economic crisis late in 2009 followed by the announcement by the governmental authorities of the enactment of a new system for assessing and certifying disability as part of the austeritydriven policies that the Greek state would enact for facing the consequences of the economic crisis. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach, the overall aim of this study is to describe and analyze the enactment of disability classification systems in the context of Greek social policy from 1990 to 2015. For the collection of empirical material, a qualitative research method was employed, consisting of interviews, written material, and newspaper articles. The main findings of this thesis are: I) the involvement of the political parties in the development of the systems for certifying and assessing disability; II) the involvement of the disability movement in policymaking; III) the “creative” use of statistics by governmental authorities for the enactment of disability/social policies; IV) how the concept of “disability fraud” has been constructed as a “threat” to the society; and V) the vulnerability of disability classification systems in times of austerity.

National states around the world develop disability classification systems to assess persons with disabilities in order to constitute them eligible or not to welfare services and benefits. On the other hand, national states employ disability classification systems as a mean to gather information regarding the disability population and the workability of its members. Previous research has shown a multilevel diversity of these systems. Also, there are a few studies that analyze in depth the politics and semantics of disability classifications and assessments both for people with disabilities and the state (Admon-Rick 2014; Mladenov 2011). Since this kind of systems lies at the heart of national states’ social policies, it becomes imperative to also study them under extreme conditions such as an economic crisis. This paper will examine the current disability classification system in Greece, a system which was initiated in 2010 during a period that Greece faced a severe economic crisis. Paraphrasing Langdon Winner (1986), “Do disability classification systems have politics” will be the main question that this paper aims to answer. Based on official documents from the Greek state, such as laws and ministerial decisions, and interviews with members of the disability movement as well as newspaper articles, this study will attempt to open the ‘black box’ of the Greek disability classification system by exploring how it was developed and implemented as well as how it was enacted as a ‘political machine’.